Whale Shark

Rhincodon typus

A shark, not a whale, the Whale Shark is the largest of all living fish, reaching 12 m in length. It is a harmless filter-feeder that consumes vast quantities of plankton, in addition to small fishes, crustaceans and squid, which are filtered from large volumes of water gulped into its cavernous open mouth, and with water then expelled through the gills. Aggregations of these sharks form in winter near the central coast of Western Australia becoming a world-renowned attraction for divers.

Whale Sharks follow seasonal migration routes according to the availability of food, and occur throughout tropical to warm temperate seas of the world.

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